Money and Power
by SourBlindingHate
Summary: Naruto is sick and tired of being poor, of being lied to and cheated by everyone and everything in the world, so after he learns through Mizuki's betrayal just how horrible his life has really been he decides to make sure no one would treat him like dirt ever again. Darker, practical Naruto. Bisexual Harem, Karincest, main lovers Hinata and Haku.
1. Chapter 1

_**I really never liked how Naruto just shrugged everything off as a kid despite all he had gone through. He was treated like dirt for most of his life and didn't even know why until a crazy traitor revealed that he'd been lied to every day from the day he was born. He was dirt poor for most of his life and next to nobody but the Ichirakus ever gave him a break in that regards. And to top it all off almost everyone treated him like he was stupid when in reality he had incredible potential but nobody was there to help him with it.**_

 _ **So, this here is a story about a Naruto that didn't just sit down and accept all of the lies that were forced down his throat with an innocent smile. This is about a darker more practical Naruto who would make it his goal to never be cheated or lied to by anyone or anything ever again.**_

 _ **Also just going to let you all know that this is going to be a Harem fic like most, the only thing though is that this one is going to be a little different in terms of who is getting romanced. I am pretty sure that this will be one of the few stories out there featuring a Bi Naruto(Dom in both ways of course). Currently the only guys I had in mind are Haku and Sai, but it's still there. Oh and prepare yourselves for some Sasuke bashing, nothing major but he definitely deserves at least**_ **some** _ **punishment for being so selfish and blind towards everyone that cared about him.**_

 _ **Hope you all enjoy.**_

* * *

Hiruzen had said it before and he'd say it again: He was getting too old for this. He knew he would have had to tell Naruto about his prisoner sooner or later, eventually there would be no hiding it, but for the boy to learn of it at such a young age and under such awful circumstances… It wasn't fair to him, to have to suffer through that too.

"Who knows?" Hiruzen blinked, startled from his thoughts by Naruto. The boy's eyes told the Kage all he needed to know about what he was feeling.

Hiruzen sighed. "Most of the civilians and Shinobi know, but none of your generation does."

Naruto grit his teeth. _"How long?"_ He growled.

"Since the day it was sealed-" Naruto's stunned laugh interrupted him.

"So they knew? They knew the _entire_ time what had happened to me?" He asked through a tightlipped smile. "The orphanage that kicked me out? The shop owners that never even let me buy anything? The parents that always told the other kids to never talk to me?" It was like Hiruzen could _see_ Naruto's joy and innocence crumble. "They all _knew?_ " The old man could only nod, and it hurt to see what it did to the boy. "… Why didn't anyone ever say anything?" Hiruzen winced, he had been dreading that question the most. "Why didn't anyone ever _tell_ me?"

He knew Naruto would hate him for the answer… but he deserved at least that much. "Because of me, I ordered the village to never speak of the Kyuubi."

That pained smile only grew. "You told them to… _why exactly?_ "

The feeling of betrayal was clear in his voice. "I had hoped that if they put it out of their minds their wounds would heal in time, and they would come to see you for what you were-

 _"And how well is that going?"_ The boy growled. "Because if you hadn't noticed _everyone_ except Iruka and the Ichirakus treats me like crap!" It pained Hiruzen that Naruto didn't mention him in that group. "And now it turns out everyone including them is a _liar_ too!" Naruto's eyes narrowed then. "… Is there anything else you're lying about?"

So much that it made him sick just to think about it. "Naruto please, you have to understand-" Naruto's eyes widened.

"Understand?!" The boy snapped to his feet. "What am I supposed to understand? That I've been lied to my entire life?! That I got cheated out of ever being happy because everyone else is a blind moron?! That you're _still_ lying to me about something else?!"

"I didn't have a choice Naruto," Hiruzen sank into his chair. "I never wanted you to grow up thinking about the Kyuubi, or how people would shun you because of it-" _And to protect you,_ he wanted to add, but he knew that would only infuriate him further.

"Well great work _Hokage-sama,_ you got what you wanted," no he didn't, he never wanted any of this. "Instead of that I got to grow up _alone_ and I never even got to know why everyone hated me!" And Hiruzen would always hate himself for that. Naruto stared for a few moments, as if waiting for the old man to deny it, to say _anything_ in his defense. "You know what? _Fine_ ," he laughed bitterly when he saw the Kage wasn't going to speak. "I guess it's alright in the end since when you think about it, this was all a _good_ thing," he said with a broken smile. "If not for everyone lying to me and ignoring me I probably would have never been able to become a ninja."

Hiruzen's eyes widened, horrified by what he just heard. "What do you mean?"

"Oh you mean you weren't keeping tabs on me in the Academy?" Naruto asked with mock curiosity. "You never saw how I could never make a normal clone which made me fail every time? You never saw how no one wanted to help me figure out why I was having so much trouble? You never saw how everyone called me a hopeless idiot?" He laughed without a single drop of joy as Hiruzen went pale. "Yeah it's pretty bad when you think about it: I could never afford any guides or tutors, I never had a _family_ to ask for any help," another wince from the Hokage. "Nope in the end it took a traitor tricking me and almost killing me to figure out that I have giant chakra reserves and the Kyuubi inside me which made normal clones impossible to use!" And just like that he slumped as if all the fight went out of him.

Naruto shook his head and flopped back into his chair with a sigh, he was so tired from all of the yelling, though to be honest he was sick and tired of everything in general right now. He was sick of being lied to by everyone, sick of being treated like dirt for no reason, but above all… he was sick of being poor. How many of his problems could have been solved, or would have never happened in the first place, if he had just a _little bit_ of money? How much easier would life have been if he had something like everyone else? How many answers could he have gotten without any trouble if he had enough to just buy them like every last one of his classmates?

Naruto blinked at that thought. How many answers… How many people would be able to lie to him if he had enough money to just _buy_ the truth from them? How much could he do if he had enough money to simply buy whatever he wanted? Everyone had a price, he saw that much with Mizuki's betrayal to the Village, so what _wouldn't_ he be able to do with enough money? The corners of his mouth twitched the more he thought about it. If he had money he'd be able to buy anyone and keep them from ever lying to him or saying no, and beyond that he'd be able afford the training and power to _make_ them do whatever he wanted if they were dumb enough to refuse him…

Hiruzen didn't like how silent the boy had become, or the smile that was slowly creeping up on his face. "Naruto… are you alright-"

"You know what I just thought of something," Naruto suddenly stood up and leaned against the desk, startling the man. "I need to read up on the Kyuubi since it's inside me and all and that got me thinking about how I need money," Hiruzen frowned, not understanding or liking this sudden change in topic. "And since I helped capture a traitor and returned an important scroll to you…" Naruto smiled wide at his Kage, but the sight only made the man feel incredibly uneasy. "How much am I going to be paid for that?"

Hiruzen blinked, stunned by the question. " _What_?"

"I mean I have to get _some_ kind of reward for this right? It's only fair," The old Kage couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You're not going to leave one of your hard working Ninja empty handed after everything they did for you without so much as an order _right_?" He didn't even give Hiruzen a chance to speak. "I'm pretty sure that this counts as an A-Rank don't you? At least that's what I think since I'm sure that scroll I saved was really important… but you know what?" He leaned closer. "I'm willing to take the minimum pay for that rank _if_ you throw in a written order _forcing_ any business to let me shop there," he looked him dead in the eye as his smile dropped. "That sounds fair… _right_?"

Hiruzen had said it before and he'd say it again: He was getting too old for this. He was an old man and yet here he was still making horrible mistakes as if he were a young fool. And what's worse was that his decisions had robbed a kindhearted boy, the son of the Village's great hero no less, of his innocence. What else could he do now aside from try and pay for his failures? He wished he knew.

The old Kage sighed and bowed his head. "Wait by the door," he rummaged through his desk for the right forms. "I need a few moments to put this together."

Naruto bowed with a joyless smile. "Sure thing Hokage-sama, I've already waited thirteen years to be treated like a normal person," the parchment crumbled in Hiruzen's hand as the boy walked over to the wall. "So what's a few more minutes?" An eternity of shame and regret.

* * *

 ** _Chapters are only going to get longer after this one, but I hope I'll be able to pop them each out within a week._**

 ** _See you then._**


	2. Chapter 2

**_This here is just a little notice for everyone reading: The money system in this fic is going to be different from the money system Kishimoto originally used in the Narutoverse. There isn't going to be any of this 1:10 Yen ratio, it's going to be as if it's normal American dollars. 1 Ryo is going to equal 1 dollar, I'm going to keep it simple in order to keep my sanity. Thankfully money was never a deeply explored concept in the story, and I'm not planning on making Naruto an economic savant that explains every single decision and purchase, so this shouldn't really bother anyone._**

 ** _Just thought you all should know beforehand so there was no confusion._**

* * *

One hundred and fifty _thousand_ Ryo… Naruto could hardly believe he had that much stuffed in his pockets, but he did and knowing that he could actually spend it all on whatever he wanted put him on cloud nine. He could get a new bed, a real bed that wasn't a lumpy ragged mess that took forever to fall asleep on. He could afford something better than the worthless dull equipment he'd gotten from the Academy. But most importantly he could get some real food! Premium grade _expensive_ ramen instead of the cheap stuff he was forced to get whenever the Ichirakus were closed.

Today couldn't possibly get any better for him… but it certainly could get more difficult that was for sure. Naruto's mood mellowed a bit when he pulled out the scroll the Hokage had given him, it felt a lot heavier than a little scroll should but with the power it held that was understandable. With this he could get whatever he wanted from any business or organization in Konoha, they had no way to deny him access unless they were willing to face punishment from the Hokage himself. Naruto took a deep breath as he prepared himself to use that power for the very first time.

He entered the Village Archives calmly and casually ignored the glares and mutters around him as he approached the help desk with a smile. "Hi there."

The unremarkable clerk looked up from her paperwork with tired eyes. "Can I help you?"

Well she wasn't glaring or giving him any attitude so things were off to a good start. "I need to look up some things about the Kyuubi," she raised an eyebrow, perhaps he had spoken too soon. He reached into his pockets and took hold of his scroll.

"You'll no doubt find something in the B, K or N sections," he relaxed a bit, but he had a good idea what kind of information he would find in the normal areas. "Not many people are interested in that old story so they're bound to be there," she returned her attention to the papers on the desk-

But Naruto had already beaten her to it, his scroll sat on top the sheets. "Actually I'd like to look at the _real_ stuff, not what they show the kids and tourists."

She glanced around the room to see if any civilians were nearby before she took hold of the scroll. "Any particular reason you're interested in _that_ kind of material?" She glanced through the small document, frowning at what she saw. How had he gotten something like this from the Hokage?

Naruto tapped his belly with his thumb while his other hand took hold of some bills from his pocket. "Personal reasons," hopefully the scroll would be enough so he wouldn't have to spend any cash on bribing her, that was _not_ the first thing he wanted to spend money on.

She sighed and resealed the scroll. "Very well," everything appeared to be in order so there was nothing she could do about it. At least it was just the Kyuubi's container asking, if it had been anyone else there could have been some serious legal issues and _that_ was a headache she didn't want any part of. "Follow me and know that you can't take anything with you, and that everything you're about to see is classified by law."

Naruto blinked before taking back the scroll, he was legitimately surprised that things had just gone that smoothly. He had expected _something_ to give him trouble at least and yet here he was skating already along towards exactly what he wanted without a single issue. He chuckled under his breath and followed the clerk deeper into the building happy that things were finally starting to look up for him for once.

"I also need to let you know that I'm forced to lock the door behind you while you're looking," the clerk spoke up as she led him up to a large vault door guarded by two statuesque Anbu. "Safety precaution for whenever a Ninja accesses important documents," she glanced back to see Naruto shrug, so long as he got to see what he wanted he didn't care about the details. "Please be sure to put everything back where you found it after you're done, everything here is marked with Chakra seals our guards can't miss so trying to sneak something out is useless," she unlatched the door and Naruto couldn't help but cough as the musty smell of old untouched parchment hit him hard.

He wiped the faint tears from his eyes and entered the vault curiously but the moment he set foot inside his shoulders and jaw slumped in shock and horror. There were books and scrolls _everywhere_! The walls were lined with them and there were nothing but small placeholders sticking out in random locations marking what was what. How was anyone expected to find the information they were looking for in a mess like this?

Naruto groaned pathetically, he was going to be here forever. "Try the middle of the far wall if you're looking for information on the Kyuubi or general Bijuu information," he blinked then looked back at the tired clerk with a frown. "I can't leave my shift until after you're finished, so the sooner you're done the better."

His slightly agape mouth snapped up into a bright smile, he couldn't believe his luck! "Thanks a lot lady!" She just rolled her eyes and shut the door behind him. "Sooo middle of the back wall…" he walked up to it and his smile slowly fell the closer he got as the layers of dust became apparent. How badly did people want to forget about the Fox?

He hoped he would have lucked out again and found what he wanted right off the back, but let out another weak groan when he saw that even all of the labels were caked in thick dust. Things had to stop being perfect eventually, hopefully this was the extent of how crappy things could get. He took a deep breath and began wiping his hand across them one by one, kicking up little clouds of dust that made his eyes water and his throat itch. _Advanced Sealing Techniques, Chakra Poisons, Negative Chakra Effects…_ He scowled as each label turned out to be something he didn't need and that scowl only grew when he began to think he'd been lied to… The location was a good one if somebody wanted to trap him for a while, who would ever think to look for Naruto of all people in a _Library_?

He was then left with conflicting feelings, a mix between relief and disappointment, when his dusting finally yielded some results… _two_ results to be exact… and nothing else. Naruto wiped away the sweaty grime that had built up on his hands then pulled out two scrolls from their cubbies: _Bijuu Basics_ and _Kyuubi Knowledge_. Naruto was both amazed and worried by just how _small_ the latter document was, but he opened it up first regardless.

At first he had no idea what he was looking at, or more specifically _who_ he was looking at. The first thing he saw upon opening it up was three small photos with some information beside them. One was of an older red-headed woman, followed by a younger woman with similar hair… and then there was a picture of himself. He frowned deeply but then his eyes went wide when he saw the names beside the first two pictures. Mito and Kushina _Uzumaki_? There were other Uzumaki's and they had been hosts just like him?

His excitement was short-lived however and a painful lump formed in his throat when he continued across the page. Not only did the two look nothing like him, but the two massive DECEASED labels were all he needed to see that he was still alone in the world. The scroll crinkled in his grip as he came to the realization that he didn't even have any _distant_ family in the world. He looked further into the document hoping to find something, _anything_ else, but other than the story of the Yondaime defeating the Kyuubi and sealing it into him there was nothing Naruto could use.

Naruto shoved the scroll back into its slot with a frustrated and pained growl, angry that all he'd gotten was another reminder of his loneliness. He managed to calm himself down however when he reminded himself that he had a second, much larger, scroll to look over. He was immediately relieved by what he saw inside: _Real_ info, not just some worthless bullet-points and pictures of people he didn't share any ties with. He skimmed through it slowly, looking for anything worth paying attention to and remembering for later.

 _Beasts made out of pure Chakra… Nine in total… Strength scales with the number of tails… Incredibly hostile towards humans… Beasts try to drive their hosts mad or make them go berserk in order to overwhelm them with Chakra._ He hadn't experienced anything like that yet but maybe that meant his seal was stronger, or maybe the fox just didn't care enough to talk yet. _Jinchuurikis,_ so that's what he was called, _should be related to current Kage families to assist in bolstering loyalty…_ Naruto couldn't keep himself from snorting when he read that, he _definitely_ felt loyal after all that had been done for him…

He kept searching deeper into the scroll and eventually found something _very_ interesting: _If a Bijuu leaves its Jinchuuriki then the host will die soon after from severe Chakra exhaustion, however if a Jinchuuriki dies then its bijuu is "Destroyed" as well._ Naruto frowned at the quotations but understood when he kept reading. _Bijuu cannot be truly killed, all Bijuu eventually resurrect and the years spent "Dead" are based on the number of their tails. One tail equals one year in stasis while nine tails equals nine years._ And hello potential blackmail if he needed it… He flicked through the rest of the scroll but he had a feeling he had found everything he could, and he was right.

Blah-blah-blah _Attempts to capture_ blah-blah-blah _Current known locations of Bijuu_. _"How long has_ that _been out of date?"_ Naruto wondered briefly before sealing the document back up.

Naruto slid the last scroll back into its slot and let out a tired breath. All in all he hadn't found out all that much about his tenant… but this certainly hadn't been all bad. He knew now that he had the strongest Bijuu of them all inside of him, the thing he was happiest about, and if he died then the fox would have to spend nine years doing _nothing_ while it reformed, which gave him the perfect way to blackmail it if it didn't want to play ball.

All of this left him with an entirely new problem however: How exactly was he supposed to talk to the thing to decide if he even needed blackmail? There had been nothing in either scroll about Jinchuuriki actually _talking_ with their Bijuu, and Naruto was pretty sure that trying to: " _drive their hosts mad or make them go berserk,"_ didn't exactly count as polite conversation. He kicked the door a few times to let the clerk know he was ready, and spent the next minute she took opening the vault staring at a spot on the floor as he tried to think of something.

Was there anything he could offer it besides the freedom that would kill him? Would it even be willing to work with him if he found something it wanted? Would it decide that letting him die would be easier that working with him at all? Would talking with it just make it easier for it to manipulate him into releasing it? Every question he thought up led to a new one but in the end they always came back down to the same exact issue: How would he even talk to the Kyuubi to find anything else?

"So did you find what you were looking for?" Naruto looked up to the tired clerk.

He shrugged but his frown remained. "More or less, dusting all of that stuff off was like killing myself though," he took a few steps out the door… but then he stopped right outside when something occurred to him. "Have you read all of the stuff in there?"

She nodded slowly. "Of course, I'm supposed to know about every document here and then some," her eyes narrowed curiously. "Why?"

He mirrored her look. "Do you know if a Jinchuuriki has ever committed suicide?" Had he been an experienced Shinobi he might have noticed the two Anbu behind him tense up and glance at each other.

She thought about it for a bit. "Not that I can think of, no," either she was too tired or she honestly didn't care but she showed no other reaction to his question. "I would think their Bijuu would step in before something like that happened," Naruto nodded, though it was mostly to himself. He had his answers and now he had a good idea of what he needed to do next.

He smiled brightly at the clerk. "Thanks for all the help," and with that he made his way to the exit.

He knew exactly what he had to do now, it wasn't going to be easy and it _definitely_ wasn't going to be safe but that was fine since he had the best place to have a last meal just down the street. He exited the Archive with a big grin, content with the fact that he had made actual progress with a plan he came up with all on his own and had gotten something he wanted with next to no hassle involved. And his mood only got brighter the closer he got to the Ichiraku stand, he practically skipped along the street… him and his two extra shadows.

Ayame heard the boy running down the street before he even made it to the stall. "Hey Ayame-chan!" The young chef smiled as brightly as Naruto was when he hopped into a seat. "I want one of the best, most expensive bowls you guys can make!"

"Oh really?" Teuchi stepped out from the back. "Even after all the bowls you ate with that Sensei of yours earlier? What's the occasion?" He pulled out a bowl and got to work.

"Nothing much, I just got my hands on some really great stuff is all and I felt like celebrating," he scratched at his nose a bit as his smile softened. "… And I wanted to make sure I got something really good tonight, just in case."

The chefs frowned at that, but didn't let it stop them preparing his meal. "What do you mean by that Naruto-kun?" Ayame asked with a hint of worry. "In case of what?"

"Don't worry it's nothing major," Naruto shrugged. "I'm just worried I won't be able to get some great ramen for a while since I'm going to be so busy," he wasn't going to die from this, he _couldn't._

Teuchi smiled softly, believing he understood. "You know we can make things fast Naruto," he set his special order down in front of him. "So you can drop by whenever you want to get some good food before you hit the road for a mission."

Ayame nodded with a smile of her own. "We're open for you anytime."

"Thanks you guys," this was what he loved about their stand. The food looked great, smelt great, the chefs were great, and in the end you just _felt_ great no matter what else was happening.

"Don't mention it," Teuchi chuckled as the boy went to town on his dish. "We have to look out for our best customer after all."

" _Oh yeah!_ " Naruto swallowed his mouthful. "That reminds me of something I need to do before I leave," he set his already half empty bowl down and dug into his pockets.

The Ichirakus could hear the bills before they saw them. "Oh Naruto please no," Ayame reached over and patted his shoulder. "This one's on the house-"

"Nope, I'm not leaving until I pay you," Naruto gave them one of his heartwarming smiles as he began splitting his money. "You two were some of the only people that ever treated me like a person the moment we met," the two smiled warmly, but frowned as he kept flicking through the bills, he'd almost split his money in half… "And it's about time I finally repaid you for all of that," he put the money on the counter then picked up his bowl, intent on finishing.

Ayame's and Teuchi's eyes went wide when they saw the numbers on each bill. " _Naruto!_ " Her mouth was agape along with her father's as the boy drank the last of his meal. "How much _is_ this? How- Where-"

"That's seventy five thousand Ryo," He answered brightly, almost making the two stumble. "And I got twice that after doing an A-rank mission for the Hokage," he chuckled a little as he got to his feet. "Just think of this as me paying for all those times you gave me something on the house, plus all the tips I never got to pay!" He laughed and pushed aside the sheets. "See you later, I want even better ramen when I get back!"

"Wha- Naruto! Wait a minute!" Ayame rushed out the side door, but he was already gone by the time she got out. "What is going on?" She fell back against the wall. "Why did he just do that?"

Teuchi sighed and rubbed his eyes, he'd seen things like that a few times before. "Because he's afraid something is going to happen tonight that wont let him come back," the thought alone made them both feel awful, neither wanted to lose their favorite beam of joy.

"Should we tell someone? The Anbu? The Hokage?" Ayame would do anything to help keep Naruto safe.

"I'm sure they're already watching," Teuchi rested his head in his hands, he suddenly felt very tired. "What kind of leader wouldn't keep an eye on someone who just finished such a high ranking mission by himself?" He looked out at the nearly empty streets. _"But I still hope you know what you're doing Naruto…"_

 _..._

Naruto really hoped he knew what he was doing, his plan didn't really give him much breathing room if he screwed it up, but he pushed that thought aside when he reminded himself that he was already halfway up the Hokage Monument. The wind tugged at his footing with every step up, but he kept reminding himself why he was here: He had to make a deal with the Fox, if he didn't get that power behind him then he'd be stuck at the bottom of the barrel for years trying to show everyone how much he was actually worth.

He sighed immediately after that thought. _"Thank you world for giving me no other options,"_ he mumbled bitterly as he continued up the stairs.

"I'd think there were much healthier options for someone in your position," Naruto whirled to find himself staring at an Anbu down the stairs, more specifically one of the guards from the Vault in the Archives.

"Not to mention options that are much safer for the Village," Naruto didn't even have to look back to see the other one.

"Hey there, can I help you?" Naruto glanced around, there wasn't much he could do from his position. Thin stairs built into the mounting, a railing on the side, Anbu in front and behind him… and a drop so far that he couldn't even count how far down it was. Why had he bothered climbing up so far again? He had basically been begging an Anbu to show up and ruin his plans.

"No, but perhaps we can help you," the Anbu in front of him took a step forward but froze when Naruto edged closer to the railing. "Look, we understand things have been difficult for you Uzumaki, and learning about the Kyuubi through a traitor must have hurt but-"

"What?" Naruto frowned for a moment but then laughed in relief. "Oh! So _that's_ why you're here," Naruto rolled his eyes, finally understanding that they didn't know a thing about what he was really doing. "Ok that makes this a lot easier, you guys don't have to worry I'm not up here to kill myself."

The two operatives tilted their heads in unified confusion. "The location says otherwise…" the one behind him said.

"Yeah I get that, I really do," Naruto hopped over the railing but still held on. "But there wasn't really anything else that would work for me," he pulled out one of his kunai and tossed it against the wall where it bounced off harmlessly. "Slitting my wrists with a dull knife and waiting to bleed out doesn't sound like it would get much attention would it?"

"Attention?" The Anbu closed in slowly. "Is that what this is about?"

Naruto grinned with a little chuckle. "Course not," he shoved himself away just as the Anbu lunged to grab him. _"It's about business!"_ He laughed as he fell but the moment he turned himself around in the air his smile went a little crooked. He gave a nervous laugh when he saw just how fast the ground was closing in. _"Uh hey Fox you want to wake up?"_ He thought loudly. _"I'm going to die here, you don't want that right? Right?!"_ His smile fell when nothing happened. "Oh crap…" His heart was pounding in his chest as he began chanting it like a mantra the closer he got. "Crap-crap-crap- _crap_ - _CRAP_!" He held his arms in front of his face as if it would somehow stop what was about to happen…

What would eventually happen… what would happen sometime soon? Naruto opened his eyes and blinked a few times when he heard water dripping and felt a distinct lack of dirt in his unbroken face. He looked around and the first thing he thought when he saw his new damp surroundings was: "Where am I?"

His answer came quickly. " _ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR DAMN MIND?!_ " From behind him came an impact and roar so powerful that it knocked him to his knees. " _Are you trying to get us both killed?!_ "

Naruto flipped onto his backside and his jaw fell to the floor. "Holy _crap_ you're huge!" There it was, trapped in a massive cage right in front of him: The Kyuubi.

Kurama snarled in rage. " _Answer the damn question brat! Are you absolutely_ insane _?!_ " He yelled, barely believing what had just happened. He had just been minding his own business trying to get some sleep when out of nowhere the seal suddenly changed and gave him a millisecond to react to the sight of Naruto plummeting face-first towards the ground.

Naruto pushed himself up and patted himself over, everything looked like it was still alright. He then took a moment just to look at what was in front of him, how _powerful_ was he going to be after this? "No I just wanted to talk with you-"

" _Excuse me?_ " Kurama couldn't believe what he just heard. " _You tried to kill yourself so you could_ talk _?!_ "

"Hey!" Naruto pointed up at the Fox. "I didn't try to kill myself, I tried to get your attention," he then grinned wide. "And it looks like it worked."

Kurama blinked, stunned by the way the boy was acting given the situation. _"Are you a complete moron?!"_ He roared. _"You didn't get my attention you fool! You forced your seal to weaken because you were about to die!"_

"…Oh," Naruto scratched the back of his head with a weak chuckle. "Well, it all worked out in the end right?" He gave a crooked smile that made the Fox gape. "I mean I'm still alive and we're talking right now so…"

Kurama was so confused. " _What is wrong with you? Aren't you afraid of dying?_ " Not only had Naruto just been seconds away from death, but the fact that he was standing here before him should have had the boy shaking in his boots and yet here he was making _jokes_! What was going on?

"Uh don't get me wrong, but you're kind of stuck in a cage, that's not that scary," Naruto pointed out bluntly, making the beast growl. " _Buuut_ , I might be able to help with that," he quickly added. "That's kind of the whole reason I'm here."

Kurama's eyes narrowed. " _What do you mean?"_ He asked cautiously. _"You would release me?_ "

"Nope," the Fox bared his teeth but Naruto didn't let it faze him. "Look I read up on you and the others before I decided to talk, so no I'm not going to let you go just so I can die right after."

Kurama scowled and flopped down onto his front paws. _"So what_ do _you want boy?"_ He growled. It appeared that fear and ignorance weren't anything he could abuse here, so that killed off quite a few options.

"I want to make a deal," Naruto crossed his arms and waited.

Kurama only had a moment of stunned surprise before he laughed. _"A deal?"_ He laughed even harder. _"You risked your life to speak with the most powerful creature in the world, a creature that has been_ trapped _inside you for_ years _…"_ He pressed his face against the bars, teeth bared. " _To make. A._ Deal _?!_ "

"I get that it probably sounds weird-" Naruto began, but the Fox's laugh beat him to it.

" _It sounds like the fever dream of a madman!_ " Kurama snarled. " _What possible reason could I have to work with an insignificant little speck like you?_ "

Naruto waited for a bit as the Fox panted from screaming so much. "Are you done?" Kurama growled in response at the disrespectful answer. "Alright then, now if you'd let me talk, I was going to say that we don't really have any other options," he raised his hands the second the Fox opened his mouth. "Can I finish please? Or are you just going to be a jerk the entire time?" Kurama narrowed his eyes but closed his mouth. "Look we really don't have any other options like I said," Naruto kept going before the Fox had a chance. "If you get out then I'm just dead, and if I die then you do too and you lose nine whole years of your life which I'm sure you don't want."

It certainly was a hassle trying to reform and he'd like to avoid it if he could… " _So what's your point boy?_ "

"My point is that we're stuck with each other, so why not try and make the most of it?" He asked simply.

Kurama pushed himself up and looked down at Naruto. "And why pray tell would you be willing to work with me?" He tapped at the bars. "What guarantee do I have that you won't cheat me the second I give you any of my power?"

"What reasons do I have to cheat you?" Naruto went over to a wall and rested against it.

"Oh maybe the fact that I've no doubt " _ruined your life_?" Or perhaps you might look for revenge against my " _Attack_ " all those years ago," Kurama crawled over to the side of his cage.

"Eh if you think about it you got _sealed_ into me, so if anyone ruined my life it was the Yondaime," Kurama snorted in disbelief at the answer. "And as for the attack… well I'm willing to hear you out," the Fox blinked, surprised by what he just heard.

" _Come again?_ " He picked at the inside of one of his ears, he must be hearing wrong.

"I never read about you or any of the others ever actually _attacking_ some place before," Naruto pushed himself off the wall and moved closer to the cage. "So, I'm willing to hear you out and let you explain what happened on that night you attacked."

Kurama's eyes narrowed. _"As if you'd believe me,"_ Naruto held his arms out, as if waiting for something. The Fox sat down and looked Naruto dead in the eye. "… _I didn't attack your worthless Village no matter how much they deserved it, I was_ used _,_ " his hackles raised at the memory. _"I was trapped inside another one of you pests at the time, an infuriating little brat with a temper as hot as her hair-"_

"Mito or Kushina?" Kurama twitched in surprise at Naruto's question. "Like I said I read up a bit."

But the boy still didn't know everything it seems, perhaps he could use that later… " _The latter, she was indisposed at the time which made it simple for the one responsible for the attack to capture her,_ " there was nothing quite like family, and if the Fox could use the identities of his loved ones as blackmail for later then so be it. " _He broke her seal and released me, all so he could take control of me in order to attack your Village._ "

"How could anyone take control of you outside of a seal?" Naruto was very curious about that.

" _By being a filthy Uchiha wretch!_ " Kurama snarled as his claws dug into the floor while Naruto's eyebrow raised. " _Those damn eyes of theirs can steal anything, even free will._ "

"So do you know who he was?" Naruto asked, wondering if they could have been someone that died with the rest.

" _No, but the coward wore a mask that would be easy enough to recognize,_ " Kurama growled. _"I'd do anything to get my claws on that bastard."_

"I'll be sure to keep my eyes open then," the Fox scowled down at the smiling boy. "So what happened then?"

" _I'm sure you know the gist of it,_ " aside from the fact that it was the boy's father that did the deed. _"The Yondaime came to save the day, drove the masked bastard off, beat me into submission and then sacrificed himself to seal me into a child for the sake of his precious Village,"_ he pressed himself against the bars again. " _So boy, do you believe me?_ " He asked mockingly.

Naruto looked him in the eye for a bit, with only the drips of water to break the silence before he spoke. "I actually do."

 _"And why is that?"_ Asked the Fox, genuinely curious.

"You don't look like a liar," Naruto shrugged. "They get this look in their eye and you don't have it."

Kurama rolled his eyes at the naïve answer. " _Wonderful, so now what?_ "

Naruto thought about it for a bit. "Well I guess we can try and think up the terms for our deal since you know I don't have a reason to cheat you now."

" _Are you really still set on that?_ " Kurama chuckled. _"I still have no guarantee that you'll keep_ any _word you give."_

"Likewise, so I guess we just have to trust each other," Naruto smirked but then he sighed and looked around their surroundings. It looked like a normal sewer aside from the cage, identical in every way to a real one all the way down to the annoying dripping. "Alright how about this," Kurama's ears twitched. "You and I work together, you give me a bit of power every now and then when I need it and also make sure I don't die any time soon-"

 _"And in return for these_ simple _services?"_ Kurama's patience was waning.

"And in return I do a little something like _this_ ," he snapped his fingers and the dripping in the sewer stopped, _all of it_. "Huh that actually worked," he was pleasantly surprised.

Kurama trembled slightly as his teeth ground together. " _That's it?_ "

"'Course not," Naruto waved his hand, dismissing the thought. "I was thinking that we could do it like this: Every time you help me out or save me I'd clean this place up for you in some way, give you a bit more comfort," he tapped his foot against the wet floor. "And who knows, maybe I could end up changing this place into something else entirely like a big field or something, you'd like that right?"

" _I'd_ like _to be set free,_ " The Fox growled.

"And _I'd_ like to keep on living, so we're going to have to make a compromise," Naruto held his arms out again to give the Fox his undivided attention. "Do you have a better idea mister uncooperative?"

Kurama's eye twitched, this insolent little… " _Alright you know what? FINE!_ " He slammed his paw against the bars. " _If it'll end this moronic conversation then fine! I will help keep your worthless hide alive!_ " His claws dug into the metal, everything about this entire situation was wrong and he was _sick_ of it. " _But be warned you little brat, if you_ ever _think to cross me…_ " the water bubbled beneath him as he poured out a massive wave of Chakra that swirled around Naruto for a few seconds. " _I_ will _let you die, inconvenience be damned._ "

Naruto smiled wide and held his out hand inside the cage as if the beast before him were an ordinary person he could shake hands with. "Deal."

Kurama legitimately considered crushing the boy then and there just to force the little brat out early, but he decided against it when he realized Naruto could simply come back whenever he wanted and give him an earful. He sighed deeply then tapped the boy's hand with one of his claws. " _Yes deal, wonderful,"_ he sighed and rested his chin against his paws. _"Now please get out already so I can have some peace and quiet._ "

Naruto's smile instantly fell into a frown. "Uh quick question partner?" The entire sewer rumbled with the Fox's rising growl. "How do I get out of here?"

This boy _… This_ was the host he was stuck with now? _This_ was who the Yondaime entrusted with his legacy? Kurama briefly pondered if the nine years would be worth it or not as he slammed his paw into the floor. Naruto didn't even have a moment to be surprised as a hole opened up beneath him and swallowed him completely. Why did this boy's family have to be such an insufferable batch of headaches? That was the thought Kurama wondered about the most as he dozed off.

* * *

 ** _I hope nobody here was hoping for a constant genius/mastermind Naruto, because I certainly wasn't planning on making him one. He's going to be his usual happy-go-lucky goofball self, he's just going to have_** **tiiiiiiny bouts of homicidal rage and clear thinking whenever it comes down to his goals.**

 **Should be fun. See you all in the next one where everybody gets a taste of the new Naruto, and they have serious question.**


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